How Do Fossils Help Prove That The Continents Move?
How Do Fossils Help Prove That The Continents Move?
One type of evidence that strongly supported the Theory of Continental Drift is the fossil record. Fossils of similar types of plants and animals in rocks of a similar age have been found on the shores of different continents, suggesting that the continents were once joined.Jan 22, 2020
How do fossils indicate the continents?
Different kinds of animals and plants live in different parts of the world. … As a result, if you find fossils of the same animal or plant on different continents now, then that is evidence that those two continents may have been a single continent when those fossils were formed.
How do fossils help prove that the continents move quizlet?
the evidence that supported the hypothesis was that fossils of same animals and plants found on continents that were oceans apart. … fossils provide evidence for continental drift because there was fossils from the same animals and plants found on different continents.
What evidence is there that the continents move?
In the early part of the 20th century, scientists began to put together evidence that the continents could move around on Earth’s surface. The evidence for continental drift included the fit of the continents; the distribution of ancient fossils, rocks, and mountain ranges; and the locations of ancient climatic zones.
Why are the same fossils found on different continents?
They move at a very slow rate – usually measured in millions of years – and continents are either torn apart or collide together to form very large single continents. Fossils of the same genus/species suggest that contents that were once together, must have been together in the geological past.
How did Wegener use fossils to prove continental drift?
Wegener supported his theory by demonstrating the biological and geological similarities between continents. South America and Africa contain fossils of animals found only on those two continents, with corresponding geographic ranges.
Why have continents moved away from Antarctica?
Wegener suggested that perhaps the rotation of the Earth caused the continents to shift towards and apart from each other. (It doesn’t.) Today, we know that the continents rest on massive slabs of rock called tectonic plates. The plates are always moving and interacting in a process called plate tectonics.
Which statement explains what similar fossils found on distant continents suggest about Earths history?
Which statement explains what similar fossils found on distant continents suggest about Earth’s history? The continents have moved over time. What should she title her notes?
How does paleomagnetic evidence support the Theory that continents change position over time?
Because the magnetism of a rock is frozen into the rock at the time of its formation, the paleomagnetic poles do not move relative to the continent, and therefore, they must be moved with the continent. The continents are moved along with their paleomagnetic pole to their predrift positions.
What other evidence can you think of that would prove that the continents were all together at one point?
Fossils of a hippo-like creature and a reptile. These fossils were found on continents that are separated by great oceans and neither animal could swim those distances. Therefore the continents must have been connected at one time. Wegener was not the only one to notice the fit of the continents.
How do fossils provide evidence of Pangea?
WEGNER’S EVIDENCE FOR CONTINENTAL DRIFT Evidence from fossilized organisms and mountain chains can be used to reconstruct the positions of today’s continents and landmasses to form the supercontinent Pangea. Glossopteris ferns had very heavy seeds that could not move by wind or drift on ocean currents.
What were the names of some of the fossils that Wegener found on the different continents?
Four fossil examples include: the Mesosaurus, Cynognathus, Lystrosaurus, and Glossopteris. Modern day representation of the Mesosaurus. The Mesosaurus is known to have been a type of reptile, similar to the modern crocodile, which propelled itself through water with its long hind legs and limber tail.
Are the fossils found in different places is a proof that continent was once connected?
There are many examples of fossils found on separate continents and nowhere else, suggesting the continents were once joined. If Continental Drift had not occurred, the alternative explanations would be: The species evolved independently on separate continents – contradicting Darwin’s theory of evolution. See also how do sponges get their foodHow do scientists explain the existence of fossils of the same plants and animals on continents which are thousands of kilometers apart?
Fossils from many millions of years ago also show that one big continent had once existed and then broken apart. … Scientists have noticed that similar plants and animals have left fossils on land masses separated by large oceans. Exactly the same animal or plant can’t have evolved on different continents.How does fossil evidence of the same organism across the seas support plate movement?
Modern continents hold clues to their distant past. Evidence from fossils, glaciers, and complementary coastlines helps reveal how the plates once fit together. Fossils tell us when and where plants and animals once existed. Some life “rode” on diverging plates, became isolated, and evolved into new species.
Which two pieces of fossil evidence supports the idea of continental drift?
What are 2 important fossils used to support continental drift? Fossils of the seed fern Glossopteris were too heavy to be carried so far by wind. Mesosaurus was a swimming reptile but could only swim in fresh water. Cynognathus and Lystrosaurus were land reptiles and were unable to swim.
How do fossils tell us where plants and animals once existed?
Fossils give us information about how animals and plants lived in the past. Once people began to recognise that some fossils looked like living animals and plants, they gradually began to understand what they were. They realised they were actually the ancestors of today’s plants and animals. See also what was the colonial name of mali?What will the world look like in 200 million years?
Pangea broke apart about 200 million years ago, its pieces drifting away on the tectonic plates — but not permanently. The continents will reunite again in the deep future. … The planet could end up being 3 degrees Celsius warmer if the continents all converge around the equator in the Aurica scenario.Is the Antarctic plate moving?
The Antarctic Plate is one of Earth’s 7 major plate tectonic boundaries. … Over time, the Antarctic Plate is moving at a snail’s pace. For example, the Antarctic Plate moves at an average rate of about 1 centimeter per year.Which way is Antarctica moving relative to the other continents?
The Antarctic Plate is a tectonic plate containing the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and extending outward under the surrounding oceans.…
| Antarctic Plate | |
|---|---|
| Approximate area | 60,900,000 km2 (23,500,000 sq mi) |
| Movement1 | south-west |
| Speed1 | 12–14 mm (0.47–0.55 in)/year |
| Features | Antarctica, Southern Ocean |
Which explanation provides support for continental drift theory?
Which explanation provides support for continental drift theory? Coal fields match up across continents. What name did Wegener give to the single large landmass composed of all continents?
Which fossils are formed by sediments and found in sedimentary rock?
The term petrified means “turned into stone.” Petrified fossils are fossils in which minerals replace all or part of an organism. These fossils formed after sediment covered the wood.
What happens to soft parts of organisms when cast fossils form?
What happens to soft parts of organisms when cast fossils form? They decay.
How did paleomagnetic stripes help to prove that the ocean floor is spreading at a mid ocean ridge?
Magnetic reversals show up as bands of alternating polarity in the slowly spreading seafloor. … This explanation of magnetic striping by paleomagnetism convinced scientists that new oceanic crust was being continually formed at mid-oceanic ridges. Seafloor spreading was accepted as a reality.
How did scientists use magnetic evidence to conclude that the continents moved?
Scientists used magnetometers to show where the north magnetic pole had been when magnetite crystals cooled. Magnetite crystals of different ages and on different continents pointed to different spots. The simplest explanation is that the continents have moved.
How do rocks help support the theory of plate tectonics?
One of the key pieces of evidence supporting plate tectonic theory was the discovery that rocks on the seafloor record ancient reversals of the Earth’s magnetic field: as rocks are formed where plates are moving away from one another, they record the current direction of the Earth’s magnetic field, which flip-flops …
What experiment components confirmed that the continents were moving apart?
Alfred Wegener produced evidence in 1912 that the continents are in motion, but because he could not explain what forces could move them, geologists rejected his ideas. Almost 50 years later Harry Hess confirmed Wegener’s ideas by using the evidence of seafloor spreading to explain what moved continents.
